Growing In Adversity

"Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later."

ROMANS 8:18

Obedience to God can cost more than anticipated. The line of feeling sorry for yourself or another person when following the Lord is a stance of recognizing the cost associated with following God and not the rebirth into a new life. This line of thought is an identification to self which stands in the way of God's will. The rebirth of God in you is one in which the Spirit grows strong in maturity inside of you as you allow it, changing your old ways for the way of the Lord. 

To over sympathize is to humanize - not to heavenize. The Lord is all in all, therefore in excess pity you give recognition to giving into another's self-feeling circumstance. This act loses sight of God' greater and better purpose. God is love. In breaking - he is creating himself in you. Some parts are rough and tough to mold, but God is truth, and he knows more than we do.

Being changed and molded by God requires you to be sculpted into a new person that acts and thinks differently than before. Temporary suffering is a result of allowing yourself to be more rightly related to God. If you are not willing to change yourself or recognize the change in another - it is you that is not willing to be used by God for his good purpose and you may find yourself fighting God instead of following him.

“Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.” Galatians 6:2-3 

“The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.” 2 Peter 1:8-9 

“Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.” Proverbs 13:20 

“So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11